Homemade Chocolate Twinkies with Meringue Filling

For the chocolate twinkies:

Preheat oven to 350 F. First, you want to make your Twinkie mold. So you want to tear off 10-12 pieces of foil (I used 8 x 12 inch length). Fold each sheet of foil in half lengthwise and crease the sides to make sure it’s sealed. Next, place a spice bottle in the center and fold and press the foil around the bottom of the bottle leaving the top exposed. Still with me? Then take the spice bottle out. If you want to add another layer of foil to make sure it’s tightly sealed then go for it! Once you are done making your little Twinkie boats, spray the inside of them with non-stick cooking spray and set them aside.

Next, stir together the chocolate batter ingredients in a mixing bowl. Fill the boats halfway up with the batter. Aren’t they cute? Place the boats on a baking sheet and bake for about 17 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before pumping them full of meringue filling.

In my opinion, the next part is the best. Once your chocolate Twinkies have cooled, take a small utensil and poke three holes along the bottom of each. Try not to poke through leaving a giant hole. That would be no bueno. Take the meringue you have whipped up (see instructions below) and pipe it into the three holes. Lick your fingers if necessary.

For the meringue filling:
In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tarter until combined. Gradually add sugar. Beat until soft peaks form. Put meringue filling into a Ziploc bag and cut the corner tip off of the bag to be able to pipe. Pipe just enough meringue into the three holes. Serve.

(Recipe adapted from Can You Stay For Dinner?)